Physical Attraction Versus Chemical Reaction
by becbecmuffin
Summary: When three girls fell into the world of Fruits Basket and fall in love with some of the characters, they have to break the curse to get home. But what happens if one of them doesn't want to?
1. Chapter 1

**Physical Attraction versus Chemical Reaction**

disclaimer: No, I do NOT own Fruits Basket or any of the characters, but I do own Sam and Jessica. And obviously me.

"Slumber party!" Jess yelled as she whooshed through the doorway.

Sam's hard green eyes glanced toward Jessica. "Technically, it's not a slumber party, however…" Her face lit up and she grinned. "This is going to be awesome."

"Sam, must you _always _be right?" I just had to taunt her for her perfectionist ways and constant grammatical corrections. She caught my eye, her glare cool and dangerous as Sam's glare has a way of being. "Yes, Rebecca, I must. Got a problem with that?" she asked in her dangerously low and calm voice.

"No," I whimpered, and I scrambled up to get treats and drinks for my two best friends. When I returned, I found Sam reclining loosely in my computer chair, her eyes flicking rapidly across the bright screen and her long legs stretched out before her. Skinny little Jessica was sitting on the floor next to her, brown eyes pleading, begging for the other girl to find youtube videos of Yuki Sohma.

So that's what they were doing, looking for Fruits Basket videos. Fruits Basket is our favorite anime, and Sam, Jessica and I each had a favorite character. Mine was Shigure, the perverted author, Sam's was Hatsuharu, the one with dual-personalities (sort of creepy), and Jessica's was Yuki, the beautiful "popular boy."

But everyone in this anime was troubled by a curse, a disturbing curse that pertained to the animals of the zodiac. Each time a member of the Sohma family was hugged by a member of the opposite gender, they would transform into their zodiac animal.

When Sam pulled out of her slouch to lean forward and inspect the screen more carefully, my attention was caught and I realized she had found an AMV with Haru, Yuki, and Shigure in it.

"Nice one, Sam!" Jess praised her, and low-fived the taller girl, who paid no mind. Sam's eyes narrowed and she brushed her dark hair out of her face. "What's this…?" It was a scene of Shigure leaning against a doorpost, then, Yuki gardening, and finally, Hatsuharu running down a rainy, dark street. As if on cue, lightning sliced the sky outside our window and thunder boomed and shook the house. I loved thunderstorms, a wonderful excuse to sit inside and watch a movie while eating popcorn and drinking hot cocoa.

But lightning split the sky again, followed by louder and louder thunder, in quick succession. Sam turned away from the computer, brows drawn. "What the hell? This storm just came in, and it's firing up like crazy."

_Oh great, _I thought._ There goes my hope of a normal sleepover with these guys. At every one of these things something strange happens. I just hope this one isn't as strange as that dare we made Sam go through._

"…Rebecca!" The harsh quality lying underneath Sam's straight-to-business voice snapped me out of it and tore my gaze away from the window. My computer screen was a swirl of multi-colors, spiraling in and mesmerizing Jessica. Sam was trying to tear her gaze away, but as soon as my eyes locked on the screen, the sky lit with lightning a final time, and we were falling…


	2. Chapter 2

_The last thing I saw before I hit the ground was Jess flying through the air and Sam landing in a crouch on the concrete. I smashed into the ground with a noisy thud, and a shudder from the impact traveled up my torso. Sam immediately leapt up and sprang towards Jessica, who was an unconscious tangle of limbs a few feet away. I got up delicately, testing for injury, and then I stood and dusted myself off when I found myself bruised, at the worst. Sam was kneeling by Jessica, her fingers ghosting over the smaller girl's leg. She looked up with a relieved look in her eye. "Thank goodness you're awake. Jessica landed funny and I think she may have broken her leg."_

"_Well let's find a house or something!" I half screamed. Sam looked around calmly and said, "Don't worry, we've landed near an estate of some sort." She cocked her head to the side as if in recognition, glancing over the estate, and then shook her head and bent again to scoop up Jessica, bridal style, in her arms. _

_As I bent and unbent my arms and legs, I looked around noticed that the large group of houses was secluded by a long brick wall. Somehow, this place looked familiar, but I couldn't place it. _

"_Come on, Rebecca," I heard Sam say. It didn't register. I was too busy trying to figure out why this estate seemed so familiar. I just followed her while she carried Jess, staring at the manor._

"_Guten Tag!" I heard someone cry from above, and Sam and I both searched for the source of the noise, startled. It was a little blonde boy with blue-green eyes, up on the wall surrounding the cluster of houses, wearing a girls' school uniform and eating a lollipop. _

"_Momiji?" Sam whispered, confusion scrawling across her face. _

"_MOMIJI?!" I screamed. It was Momiji Sohma! How?! Sam was somehow all calm, cool and collect. She managed to ask (without betraying her passive mask, might I add) "Momiji? We need to see Hatori, please."_

"_Sure! I'll let you in!" He grinned hugely, and then dropped out of sight._

"_Thank you so much, Momiji!" I called. "I would hug you –"_

"_Stop." Sam cut me off violently, a threat in her eyes. "We can't have them knowing that we know of the curse…Akito will go berserk. And he's already mentally unstable as it is…"_

_I nodded meekly as the gates creaked open. _

"_We have to find Hatori," I muttered, "and fast." We quickly entered the grounds, rushed to the main house, and tried to find someone who could lead us to the doctor for the Sohma family. The first person we saw was strolling along and humming loudly, and stopped and grinned when he saw us. None other than the one, the only, __the _Shigure Sohma. 

"Ladies," he said chivalrously. 

"I'm Rebecca, and that's Samantha, and Jessica, in her arms." I said quickly, my tongue tying itself in knots. He smiled.

"How may I help three beautiful young girls like you?" 

Sam gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, stepped up and put her face close to his. "Shut it, you pervert. Our friend Jessica has a broken leg, and _you will tell us where to find Hatori. _Understand?!" She was practically snarling at him.

"You've hurt me deeply, my beauty," he said, sighing. "You'll find Hatori's office if you go straight down and turn left," he continued, pointing. "If you need further direction I'm sure someone else will be happy to help." 

"Th-thank you, Shigure," I mumbled, smiling at him, and then I followed after Sam, who was already striding away coolly. 

"You're welcome, Rebecca." His voice was softer, and calm and quiet.

"Stop flirting," Sam ordered with no subtlety. "Don't you have a boyfriend back home?" I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come on," I retorted. "Don't tell me you wouldn't do exactly the same thing if it were Haru." She strolled around the corner, and said, "I will tell you that, because it's true. Speak of the devil," she muttered, stopping dead in her tracks. 

"…Oh, hello." It was Hatsuharu Sohma. 

Sam fumbled with finding the right words for a second, but only for a second. "Hello, Hatsuharu. I am Samantha and this is Rebecca." She jerked her head at me. I couldn't _believe _she could stay so calm around the boy whose name made her positively swoon. 

I stood by the side like an idiot as they politely exchanged bows, as is usual in Japanese culture, although Sam's bow was a little weird, seeing as she was still holding the unconscious Jess.

Her green eyes lingered upon him for a moment, and his gray eyes narrowed in response. She quickly recovered by calmly saying, "Would you mind leading us to Hatori's office? Our friend Jessica has broken her leg."

He smiled and nodded, Sam's telltale look forgotten. "Of course, I wouldn't mind. Just follow me."

As we wound our way through the maze of hallways, I noticed Sam's deliberately even breathing and the way she kept shooting Haru furtive little glances. Haru either remained oblivious or opted to not say anything. We stopped by a closed door.

"I would accompany you in, but I can't make any promises that Akito, the head of the family, isn't in there being treated right now. Since I am a member of the family, it would be terribly rude and idiotic to disrupt. You girls, on the other hand, are welcome to just barge right in." A hint of a smirk played on Haru's lips, and Sam's eyes dulled; she looked about to faint. 

He nodded his head at us, and then sauntered off. 

"Sam," I said anxiously, "what if Akito's inside? He can be dangerous. Remember what he did to Tohru…?" I touched my own brown hair in sympathy. Sam glared at me determinedly and responded with only, "Jessica needs to be treated. Besides…I can deal with the likes of Akito." 

Sam nodded reassuringly once, her eyes dark, and then she nudged the door open with her foot. The second we crept into the room, I recognized it. I noted Hatori's interesting pendulum clock and, on his bookshelf, a picture of the beautiful Kana, the love of his life, who no longer loved him. After examining the room, I noticed that Hatori was sitting on the porch, staring at the water. Akito wasn't there.

"Praise the lord," I muttered, and Hatori whirled around at the sound of my voice.

He quickly regained his composure and asked us, "What are you ladies doing here?" I glanced at Sam, and then replied, "W-we need a little help, please." I said, relieved, but still antsy. 

"We were racing back to our friend Jessica's house, from school, when she tripped on something. She fell pretty awkwardly, and we think she may have broken something. We came here knowing that there was bound to be someone home and we were told by a little blonde boy that a doctor lived here. Another, older, boy with black and white hair led us here and told us to ask you for help. Would you mind taking a look at her?" I recited choppily.

"Of course." Hatori gave me one of those looks, but he gently took Jessica from Sam's arms and placed her on a mat on the floor.

He took out a complicated looking machine that I assumed was a high-tech X-ray machine. He looked through it and examined her leg. "Yes. Her leg is broken." He looked up at us, "But she couldn't have broken it by tripping. It looks as if she fell from a high place. As a matter of fact, all three of you do."

Sam swore under her breath.

We didn't realize how we must have looked. Three girls in ripped jeans and plain tee-shirts, all dirty and roughed up. Sam sighed, "Why do doctors always have to catch you in a lie?" Hatori merely looked at her and waited for the continuation. She glanced at him.

"I'm not going to try to lie anymore, because you're too smart for us. We were watching videos of you people, the Sohma family, on our computer. You're pretty famous where we come from." Hatori betrayed no emotion. "Then a storm worked up, and we sort of…" She paused, thinking of how to word our flight to the world of fruits basket. "…got sucked through the computer, I suppose you could say. We recognized the estate, and I remembered about you, the doctor of the family…and it sort of spiraled out from there."

Hatori nodded in a doctoral fashion, and stood up swiftly.

"Very well. I will need to keep…Jessica, was it?" The name sounded strange and foreign on his tongue. "She will need to stay here for a while so I can diagnose how severe the break may be and cast her. For now, you two," he glanced pointedly at Sam, "can stay in the estate."

He shunted us out of his office and right into Shigure.

"Hello ladies." Hatori poked his head out of the office and said quietly, "get them to their rooms." He walked out to whisper something into Shigure's ear, and then he disappeared once more. Shigure looked at us, smiled, and said, "I assume you're staying until your friend heals, yes?"

"Yep!" I replied with a sudden pep. "Hatori is going to make a cast for her and then we'll be leaving!" He grinned. "Alas, Hatori told me what happened to you young ladies. You can always stay with me until you can find your way home."

"To stay with you, Yuki, Kyo, and Tohru? That would be wonderful, thank you!"

"Rebecca!" Sam hissed at me, under her breath. I got the gist – she still wanted to be with Haru. I pleaded with her with my eyes and a whisper. "For Jess and I, Sam. Please?"

She clenched her fists and looked away from me, but gritted out, "Fine."


	3. Chapter 3

Shigure was giving us a confused look.

"Wait a minute. How do you know about everyone? Hatori said you were from out of town and got lost." For once the sick pervert was silent and confused.

"Yes! We are, but, we have some friends that came here for a foreign student exchange and they met most of the Sohma's." Sam quickly recovered. Obviously, Hatori had kept our secret. "Oh! So then, you know of our Prince of Kawaia High and his fan club of 'High School Girls!'" he said in a sing-song voice.

"Yes, sir." Sam still wasn't very happy about staying with Shigure, but she was polite in spite of it.

"Well, let me take you to your rooms." Sam put her hands behind her head and arched her back, stretching, and shook her head. "No, I don't think so, perv. I would prefer Kyo show us the way. I have to establish the fact that I'm the alpha with that hot-headed, irrational, impulsive outcast of the family. And Yuki should come, too," she added as an afterthought.

Shigure stared at her, and then laughed.

"So, you gonna go get 'em?"

"Fine," Shigure and I whined in unison. Gure sighed and looked at Sam, a smirk across his lips. "I'll go find them, Brat." Sam looked at him, and what passed between them started an unspoken word war.

Shigure saluted us cockily, and then stalked off.

I grinned at Sam, pretended to fan myself, and we laughed.

Minutes later, the two bickering cousins turned the corner onto the hallway where we were waiting. "I don't see why we have to lead these girls to their rooms!" the orange haired cat complained rudely. The silvery haired quiet rat beside him replied calmly, "Because it's the polite thing to do, you stupid cat." Kyo clenched his fists. "DAMN RAT! I'm going to beat you someday!"

Yuki looked at him, annoyed. "Oh, stop yelling. Besides, Shigure says the tall one with the black hair has some sort of a grudge against you."

I could tell that Sam wasn't going to break them up; she was enjoying the argument far too much.

"Man, they fight like a cat and a rat!" I said to Sam, just loudly enough for them to hear me. They both stared at me, shocked into silence by my "coincidental" observation.

"So they do know how to stop arguing." Sam's voice was slightly sarcastic.

I looked at her sourly, and then turned back to the boys. "I'm Rebecca and this is Samantha." Sam, who was leaning against the wall with her hands in her pockets, merely nodded at them.

"She acts…jut like Haru," Yuki pointed out. "Yeah," Kyo agreed, "freakishly calm and bored-looking." Sam glared at him. "SHUT UP, you damn cat." She turned to Yuki and said, "Hello, Yuki."

"How do you know about that?!" Kyo yelled. Sam shrugged. "I'm a smart girl," she said, tapping her skull with her index finger. "You, on the other hand, are a baka-neko." Yuki glanced from Sam, to me, and then back to Sam, fixing his eyes on her face.

"Tell us what you know." Sam fixed her eyes on his face, in turn, and said, "How about I tell you what we don't know, because that will take so much less time."

His eyes widened in surprise and admiration. "Fine. You want to play it like a game, I can play it your way. What don't you know?" She cocked her head to the side, and thought for a moment. Then she looked at him and said, "I have to admit, I don't yet know your favorite color. I'm supposing baka-neko's color is orange…right, kitty?"

Kyo made an angry noise, and threw himself at Sam, fist outstretched to punch her in the face. She calmly ducked, and then came back up and delivered a sharp kick to the side of his head. "Damn cat," she said, turning back to Yuki.

"So, as I was saying before Mr. Ferocious Feline interrupted, I don't believe I know your favorite color. But I am positive that Rebecca and I know almost everything there is to know about you, Prince."

I couldn't help it. I cracked up, right there, right then. "What are you laughing at, four eyes?!" Kyo yelled. "Oh, nothing," I replied. "Just the fact that you haven't resorted to finding a roof to hide upon surprises me. Oh, and, uh, there's a shit-load of cats behind you, Kyon-Kyon."

I finally grasped why Sam and Yuki loved to bother the cat so much; he was damn fun to tease.

"What?!" he cried. "Damn cats! I hate when they do this!" Sam smirked and stretched again, abandoning her attempts to hold up the wall. "Aw, now, Kyon-Kyon. Don't be mean, they love you! I'm sure if I got far enough into your personal space, you'd blend right in." I risked a glance at Yuki, who seemed to be enjoying himself, watching us torture Kyo. But he broke up the fun, saying quietly, "Sorry, but we _are _awfully close to Akito's room. We have to break up the love fest."

I inhaled sharply, remembering the one video where Akito grabbed Tohru by the hair and dragged her around. Once again, I laid my hand gingerly on my head as if to reassure myself that Akito wasn't behind me and trying to rip my hair out.

"Damn it," Sam said, glancing around, "Let's get out of here." Kyo looked at her. "You're right about that," he replied, and we all quickly moved into the next hallway. We collected our composure, and Sam and I followed brusquely after as they showed us where our rooms were.

Yuki and Kyo stopped us up at our room. "Here's your room…try not to trash it," Kyo scoffed. Sam shrugged, her eyes cool and sarcastic looking. "Only if you come up and help us, would it be 'trashed,' and appropriately so."

Kyo looked at her, eyes wide, and then Yuki just grabbed him by the hand and yanked him out of the room. The second the door closed, we both cracked up. "Poor Jess is missing all the fun!" I squealed, trying to breathe through my giggles. Sam, also gasping for air between breaths, replied with, "She'd only tell us to behave ourselves. But man, that was fucking awesome."


	4. Chapter 4

_I opened my eyes to dim sunlight and the smell of something savory. "Damn. It's morning," I snapped. Sam turned away from the window to glance back at me reproachfully. "It has been for a while already. Nice of you to notice." I sat up, rubbed my eyes, and discovered the source of the smell. A tray of onigiri and miso soup. "I've never had this before," I said softly, crawling over to the tray on hands and knees._

_Sam sighed and turned back to the window. She looked almost serene, in just her t-shirt, bare legs, bare feet. Her short, dark hair was softly tousled by the wind, and the rising sun's light filtered in around her. "Sam," I asked, "don't you want some?" She shook her head, not even turning around. "I'm not hungry."_

_I turned away from her unconcernedly and dipped into the food. Sam was constantly skipping meals; sometimes I wondered why she didn't just disappear into thin air. Sam sighed and leaned further over the balcony's railing to take a good long look at the grounds, and she said, "I wonder what's going to happen to us." I stared at the back of her head for a moment, and then I sighed. "We just have to accept what is and get through it." _

_She nodded, turned away from the window, and then sidled over to the chest of drawers and started rifting through the clothing. I saw her freeze for a moment, and then lift a piece of cloth from the drawer as though it were a bomb and could explode at any moment. "I am not___wearing this…_monstrosity_." 

She thought for a moment, and then tilted her head to the side. "I like Kyo's style. I'll just go steal something from him." My mouth dropped open slightly and I snapped, "Sam, you have no pants." She shrugged. "So? That's what I'm going to go get, isn't it?" I almost retorted, but then sighed and stood up. It was just like Sam to do something like that. Her clothing had been taken for wash and had not come back, but my clothing, on the other hand, had been returned to me during the night.

I pulled on my jeans and followed her to Kyo's room, her feet making no noise on the floor and mine making only slightly more. She slowly slid open the door and padded across the room, her shirt fluttering around her thighs and her long, pale legs taking noiseless steps. It took her less than two minutes to come up with a pair of Kyo's baggy pants and his black cutoff shirt, and she was halfway across the room when Kyo sat straight up in bed and looked right at her. 

Sam stopped dead in her tracks, looked at the floor, and sighed. "Damn it…" 

Kyo closed his eyes once, opened them again, and then hissed, "What the hell are you doing in here, trying to rape me?" Sam snapped her head up, fire in her eyes. "No, that was not my original intention, but if you're interested I think I can make an exception…" 

Kyo's eyes dulled, probably because this sarcastic girl had been at his throat just yesterday, and now this…And Sam just whooshed past me and out the door. I glanced at her, then looked at the still dumbstruck Kyo, who caught my eye. I winked at him with a smirk, and then walked out.

When I returned to the bedroom, Sam was already dressed in Kyo's clothing; they fit surprisingly well, if a little big. Her white torso was bared, legs covered – the opposite of her earlier attire. She stretched, looking remarkably like Kyo, although her face and hair were extraordinary in contrast. Upon realizing this, we laughed in unison.

As we laughed, I suddenly realized that Jessica was still being treated by Hatori. "Sam, let's go and see Jessica." She stopped laughing abruptly. "Yes, let's." 

When we were finally dressed we went to Hatori's office. 

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY KNOW ABOUT THE CURSE!" a loud voice screeched from inside. 

"What I mean is that they know. Nobody told them. They already knew." Hatori was standing up for us…in his own strange way. We heard crashes and I barged right in.

"Akito stop!" I yelled. The tall dark haired man turned around to stare at me. "Don't hurt him. He's telling the truth. No one told us of your secret." I stated, suddenly having a burst of idiotic bravery. That bravery escaped me when Akito lunged for my throat. At that moment I thought I was going to die but Sam was standing between me and the ruthless family head in a flash. Akito smirked when his hand grasped a cylinder of skin but astonishment filled his eyes when he saw it was Sam's wrist. All that built up energy in her arms and legs sprung her into action and she used Akito's hold on her to flip him over onto his back. He immediately recovered and sprang back up, fury in his eyes. He then lunged again but Sam gracefully leapt to the side causing Akito to fall to the ground. I stood by Hatori just watching; hoping Sam wouldn't get hurt. And that Akito would. How us knowing of the curse could lead to this was beyond me. Akito was just being a paranoid freak thinking his family would be shunned. As the final blow was brought by Sam, I drifted back to Earth realizing that it was all finally over. 

"Akito. I refuse to fight you any more. We will keep your secret. You can trust us more than Tohru, but use us less. And if you bother sending this seahorse after us, we will tell the world," Sam threatened.

"As if they don't already know," I muttered loud enough for only Sam to hear. "We promise that as soon as Jess heals we will stay with Shigure and go to school with the other teens in the Sohma family. And we will leave if you truly want us to. But remember, we know your secret and we know what happens in the Sohma family."

"And even if you erased our memories, once we got home we would end up learning about it again anyway." Sam added. "You might as well leave us be. Let us live in your world until we can get home." Akito straightened his robe, pushed back his hair, and took a deep breath.

"Out. Both of you. Stay with Shigure…not on this estate. Hatori will drive you over. OUT." We slowly walked out of the room. Content with the outcome of the situation. As we headed to our room we ran into Yuki, muttering to himself.

"Oh, hello, Yuki." I said. He looked up, surprised, obviously he had not expected anyone to come this way. "What are you grumbling about today?"

"Nothing. Just the fact that school starts soon and that I will have to deal with those stupid fan club girls." he replied with a tone of depression.

"Oy, Yuki…" Sam said thoughtfully… "Just pretend to be dating one of us. They won't bother you."

"Oh, I can't put you through that. You know how they treat Tohru. They'd do the same thing to you guys and I don't need any more drama in my life, thank you very much." Yuki was obviously just one to grin and bear it.

"Ha! If they even try to mess with one of us," Sam started, "They will get a face full of cold unforgiving fist." I nodded in agreement, knowing that Sam was telling the absolute truth. Sam would go to great lengths to protect those she cared about. "Just pretend to be dating Becca here and everything will be fine."

"Hey! Excuse me! Why don't I just make you date Shigure while we're at it. Oh. And Jess can date Haru! Doesn't that sound peachy?! Let Jess pretend to date him. She absolutely adores him anyway." At that Yuki's face flushed red. One would think that with his crazed Yuki Fan Club he would be used to it when he found out some one liked him. Apparently, he wasn't.

"Fine." Yuki wasn't exactly happy about putting Jess in "danger" as he liked to put it. Sam and I, on the other hand, knew that there would be no problem. We said goodbye to Yuki and kept walking towards our room. The second Yuki turned the corner we ran into Haru again.

"Oy, dai joobu ka?" he asked Sam.

"Yeah. Why?" she asked.

"Because your bottom lip is bleeding pretty bad." he replied as he wiped the blood softly off her lip. He flashed her one of those famous Sohma smiles as she blushed and tried to keep her cool.

"Th-thank you Hatsuharu." she stuttered as she bowed again hoping maybe she would get the chance to talk to him longer than yesterday.

"Sorry to break up the moment but we need to go somewhere." I interrupted.

"Why?" Sam whispered.

"Because we have to leave for Gure's house…NOW!" I cried wanting to avoid the gushy scene passing between my friend and her fictional crush. I began walking knowing that Sam would follow after saying her goodbyes.

When I could no longer see them I heard Haru mutter something under his breath. And then Sam yelled, "Nande dattebayo, Haru-Chan!? Yamero!

Yamero!" I had no clue she knew any Japanese other than kawaii, shonen ai, and yaoi. I guess that was one thing I didn't know. As Sam caught up, flushed, I heard Haru softly chuckle.

"Since when do you know any Japanese whatsoever?!" I hissed.

"Since I wanted to." she coolly replied, "What's it matter to you anyway? It's not as if it's a deep dark secret I've been keeping from you." She started walking, knowing that all I could do was follow after that smooth reply. As we walked towards our room I wondered if there was anything she had been keeping from me. When we finally reached our room we found our stuff to be packed but knowing that we didn't bring as much as was packed we checked what was in our bags. We saw that they gave us the essentials; toothbrush, hairbrush, shampoo, soap; stuff we would need but as we dug deeper we noticed more of those disgusting outfits and we pulled them out and littered the floor with them. Our bags were considerably lighter after that.


End file.
